-Ran two trailer loads of moving trash to the transfer site. We had never gotten rid of all the boxes and papers from when we moved in.
-Helped The Boy with his novel.
-Folded laundry.
-Tidied.
-Worked on Christmas planner :)
-Spent a huge amount of time messing with my blog background, only to go back to the background I already had :D
Friday, November 6, 2015
Is Home Where We Take Our Stand?
Creating a home (house, garden, etc) as sanctuary for our husbands and children and friends and neighbors and strangers in a dark and jaded world.....
Do we value the task of creating a safe, warm place as much as we should? I often don't. It is hard to pulled both to the garden and to the front lines, especially in today's world.
Is that why we love Andy Griffith and Little House on the Prairie and watching Pride and Prejudice, because we instinctively are drawn to the idea of home? Why we long to get away to beautiful places of good food and soft music and warm greetings?
This isn't about working or not working. This is more about mindset, about how we spend our time, about getting in touch with a part of us that years of outside pressures might have made us forget that we have, and made us forget what an amazing work creating a safe, warm place really is.
Could it be that this is our stand? That this is our fight against evil and darkness--to create literal islands of light and joy and peace in each city or country block, to be ambassadors of that light and love when we travel to school and store and doctor's office and restaurant?
Are we talking this duty seriously? Do we understand the necessity of it? Are we willing to provide this for others?
The world is corrupted with the spirits of evil and greed and selfishness. Could it be that our homes are our fortress against such, that we must be diligent to keep the walls of it strong and the insides of it peaceful and light?
Do we value the task of creating a safe, warm place as much as we should? I often don't. It is hard to pulled both to the garden and to the front lines, especially in today's world.
Is that why we love Andy Griffith and Little House on the Prairie and watching Pride and Prejudice, because we instinctively are drawn to the idea of home? Why we long to get away to beautiful places of good food and soft music and warm greetings?
This isn't about working or not working. This is more about mindset, about how we spend our time, about getting in touch with a part of us that years of outside pressures might have made us forget that we have, and made us forget what an amazing work creating a safe, warm place really is.
Could it be that this is our stand? That this is our fight against evil and darkness--to create literal islands of light and joy and peace in each city or country block, to be ambassadors of that light and love when we travel to school and store and doctor's office and restaurant?
Are we talking this duty seriously? Do we understand the necessity of it? Are we willing to provide this for others?
The world is corrupted with the spirits of evil and greed and selfishness. Could it be that our homes are our fortress against such, that we must be diligent to keep the walls of it strong and the insides of it peaceful and light?
Thursday, November 5, 2015
A Quiet Morning
Sitting with The Wonder Sweetie on the screened porch. The smoke from his pipe sweetens the warm, sharper scent of wood burning somewhere nearby--a potpourri of masculinity and autumn and fire. The grainlines of cracks and callouses in his rough, hardworking hands flow and blend into those in the bowl of his pipe and I am meszmerized by the dance of the mist and the blessing of marriage.
He reads a book on leather craft. I am surrounded by papers of dreams and plans for this holiday season. Determined to be a better mom, a better planner, so that my babies--now grown and tall--might have a whole season of twinkling, lighted excitement.
It is a splendid, blessed way to spend a free morning <3
He reads a book on leather craft. I am surrounded by papers of dreams and plans for this holiday season. Determined to be a better mom, a better planner, so that my babies--now grown and tall--might have a whole season of twinkling, lighted excitement.
It is a splendid, blessed way to spend a free morning <3
Daily Done 4Nov15
It was very much a low ebb day for me. :) Felt rather off, slightly ill. I think it is from the weather fronts that are coming through as we all are slightly headachy and off balance. Plus, it has been very overcast for several days but not dark and stormy (which is fabulous) nor bright and sunny (which is fabulous). It is the kind of bland overcast that is a blessing as it is trapping warm air at the ground, but does not energize the motivation :)
So I did not do a great deal. But I also decided not to stress about it. :) Some days are just like that. I did not do a ton of work, but I tried to do steady work. Later in the evening I almost begged out of going to supper with TWS because I felt weary, but I decided cheese sticks sounded too good to pass up and went :) So glad I did!
There is such an interesting balance that we must strike between doing when we don't want to and resting when we should.
-Misc Household (make bed, etc. I actually am trying to get better at doing this every day. Usually I am so excited about my day that I run out of the room without making the bed, but I am trying to be more diligent :) )
-Sweep floor
-Tidy
-Read part of The Boy's first novel to help him with the NaNoWriMo he is doing this month.
-Write--today it was a long fb post regarding the necessary balance of love and logic in a child who is feeling very emotional about something that is not true. It was a very interesting discussion with another woman who seems to put the event of emotions as more important than the resolving of them, and our discussion went round and round with her believing I was not validating emotion and me believing that it was more important to heal the pain of a wound that did not exist than to validate errant feelings. If I, in error, thought my dog died, I feel it is much kinder to say "No, wait, your dog is alive! He is in the other room!" than for someone, knowing full well that my dog is alive, to say "You are feeling very sad which makes sense if you think you dog has died. I validate your feelings of sadness. Let me hold you while you cry."
Oh we must be gentle with hearts! But we must not allow them to dwell in unnecessary pain as that is not kind AT ALL. Validate the truth and help the heart work toward the understanding of it!
The thing is emotions and "gut feelings" are not reliable. Seriously they are not. Gut feelings are like driving abilities: everyone, myself included, thinks they are an excellent driver :)
But emotions and gut feelings are too complex and too easily swayed to be 100% trustworthy. Hormone levels, illness, tiredness, time of day, blood sugar levels, all of these and so many more impact emotions and our "guts". We can only see our perspective, our moment in time from our vantage. We cannot see what other people are thinking or feeling.
I am not saying we should never rely on emotions. Emotions are incredibly valuable for loving and tenderness and gentleness and humbleness and kindness and sympathy and empathy. I am saying that we have to be wise enough to understand our emotions are not 100% valid all the time and to listen to those who love us and to be diligent to look at the logic and reason of a situation, as well as the emotion of it.
-Work on Christmas Book--ok I basically just printed out two calendars and looked for events to put in the book :) I have a FABULOUS surprise waiting for the children in January :D
-Entertained our neighbors who came to look at bracelets that TWS makes as they want them for Christmas presents. Then we took them out to feed the ducks.
-Went to supper with TWS to Applebees, then to the Nestles cookie shop for dessert whilst the kids were at youth group.
So I did not do a great deal. But I also decided not to stress about it. :) Some days are just like that. I did not do a ton of work, but I tried to do steady work. Later in the evening I almost begged out of going to supper with TWS because I felt weary, but I decided cheese sticks sounded too good to pass up and went :) So glad I did!
There is such an interesting balance that we must strike between doing when we don't want to and resting when we should.
-Misc Household (make bed, etc. I actually am trying to get better at doing this every day. Usually I am so excited about my day that I run out of the room without making the bed, but I am trying to be more diligent :) )
-Sweep floor
-Tidy
-Read part of The Boy's first novel to help him with the NaNoWriMo he is doing this month.
-Write--today it was a long fb post regarding the necessary balance of love and logic in a child who is feeling very emotional about something that is not true. It was a very interesting discussion with another woman who seems to put the event of emotions as more important than the resolving of them, and our discussion went round and round with her believing I was not validating emotion and me believing that it was more important to heal the pain of a wound that did not exist than to validate errant feelings. If I, in error, thought my dog died, I feel it is much kinder to say "No, wait, your dog is alive! He is in the other room!" than for someone, knowing full well that my dog is alive, to say "You are feeling very sad which makes sense if you think you dog has died. I validate your feelings of sadness. Let me hold you while you cry."
Oh we must be gentle with hearts! But we must not allow them to dwell in unnecessary pain as that is not kind AT ALL. Validate the truth and help the heart work toward the understanding of it!
The thing is emotions and "gut feelings" are not reliable. Seriously they are not. Gut feelings are like driving abilities: everyone, myself included, thinks they are an excellent driver :)
But emotions and gut feelings are too complex and too easily swayed to be 100% trustworthy. Hormone levels, illness, tiredness, time of day, blood sugar levels, all of these and so many more impact emotions and our "guts". We can only see our perspective, our moment in time from our vantage. We cannot see what other people are thinking or feeling.
I am not saying we should never rely on emotions. Emotions are incredibly valuable for loving and tenderness and gentleness and humbleness and kindness and sympathy and empathy. I am saying that we have to be wise enough to understand our emotions are not 100% valid all the time and to listen to those who love us and to be diligent to look at the logic and reason of a situation, as well as the emotion of it.
-Work on Christmas Book--ok I basically just printed out two calendars and looked for events to put in the book :) I have a FABULOUS surprise waiting for the children in January :D
-Entertained our neighbors who came to look at bracelets that TWS makes as they want them for Christmas presents. Then we took them out to feed the ducks.
-Went to supper with TWS to Applebees, then to the Nestles cookie shop for dessert whilst the kids were at youth group.
Daily Done 3Nov15
-Set up cat crate. Our cats sometimes get caught in the screened porch at night. With the weather getting colder, I don't want them to freeze and/or suffer. I found a seat cover that we used for the dog which I will wrap around a cat carrier that is under the daybed on the porch. Inside will be a sheepskin pad. The cats love to go find hidey holes, so this should keep them warm enough til morning in our southern winters.
-Run to feed store for scratch for ducks and chickens
-Tidy living room
-Bleach whites
-Fold laundry
-Run to feed store for scratch for ducks and chickens
-Tidy living room
-Bleach whites
-Fold laundry
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